Closed Gaming in the Corridor

[Demetrius Wagner]

After his unpleasant encounter with Aine Demetrius had given up on study. If his grades were going to be bad, they'd be bad, he'd decided. Just something else for his parents to find disappointing about him. Usually he'd try to hide his muggle interests so as not to garner too much attention, but Demetrius didn't feel like going back to the Hufflepuff common room or his dormitory. He wanted to stay away for as long as possible, if he could help it. Easier that way to forget what had happened and just enjoy himself.

Demetrius hid himself away at the far end of the corridor, hoping to avoid any prying eyes. Demetrius took out a switch he'd decided to bring to school that year and loaded up a game.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday Weeks finished up his afternoon patrol, which he sort of went solo with it. Just a minor rebellion, sort of. He didn't like the whole pairing up situation and figured that if he was going to be approached, so be it. Monday walked the first floor corridor with his hands in his pocket. That is, until he saw another fifth year huddled in the corner. He definitely recognized the technology that the Hufflepuff held in his hands, but the better question was, was it even working? Electronics did not work in the magical world. He approached Demetrius and cocked his head to the side, "Are you getting that to work? My switch goes nuts if I bring my wand anywhere near it." Monday smiled, letting the lad know that he knew exactly what the boy was holding.​

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

Demetrius looked up in surprise. He hadn't expected to be disturbed but at least he recognised the interrupter - he was in all of Demetrius' classes. "Uh, sometimes if I hit it in just the right spot it kind of goes for a bit," Demetrius said, trying to hit the switch in the back. It made a strange crackling noise but ultimately didn't turn on. He deflated. "Guess it's not working today. Wait, you actually know what this is?" Demetrius hadn't expected to happen upon someone who knew what it was. He felt a little excited.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday watched with his light colored eyes as the switch attempted to work, but then it didn't turn on. He hoped that it wasn't screwed. Nintendo did have sturdy consoles. He was sure one could throw a gamecube and it would be fine. Monday knelt down in front of the Hufflepuff so that they could talk at some sort of eye level. "Hate to hear that. Maybe during brightstone you can get it to work in a secluded area. Works for me!" Monday wanted to offer that bit of advice - as if he ever had the time to even go out that way. With his schedule, it was hard for him to find any sort of time to himself. "Yeah, of course. I'm muggle-born and was practically raised on video games. Mainly Nintendo and anything with Disney because parental controls. Mom doesn't like the idea of violent games." Monday figured that if anyone would know what he meant, it would be someone from back in the muggle world. "You don't meet a lot of people who know what the switch is, do you?"​

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

"Oh, that's not a bad idea, thanks," Demetrius said to Monday's advice. He definitely missed being able to plays games. Demetrius listened to the other student talk, nodding along. "Yeah, I like nintendo a lot but I was definitely raised on playstation. Though my parents tried to stop me playing any of the violent ones too." Demetrius smirked at that - his parents could control what they played at home but not what he played at other kids' houses. "And no, I kinda thought I might be the only one. I know, uh, there's other muggleborns but not everyone muggle is interested in video games." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. He wanted to say he was glad he'd finally met someone who did, but couldn't find the way to say it without feeling self-conscious.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday nodded as Demetrius said that it wasn't a bad idea. And the last thing the Ravenclaw wanted was for the Hufflepuff's game system to eventually be so fried that it would fail completely. Even the mention of Playstation brought him back and kept the smile on his face genuine. Even had parents that were alike. "I can imagine. Although, some of the games were pretty violent. I remember looking up Grand Theft Auto and wow, it was very bad." Monday did not know many of the retro Playstation games, since he was only allowed Kingdom Hearts because it had Mickey Mouse in it. Demetrius explained why and Monday understood quite a bit. He loved video games but he was not sure what Aine thought of them since she too was a muggle-born. "At least you know you aren't alone. I am pretty much the stereotype of nerd. Both in the magical world and out."​

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

Demetrius gave a wry smile at the mention of Grand Theft Auto. "Yeah, I went to a friend's place once after school and saw some of that game. It was...a bit over the top for me. I don't really understand games like that. Maybe when I'm older, but...I don't know," Demetrius said, uncertain. Maybe he'd change his tune, but he just couldn't see it happening. It felt strange knowing there was someone who was somewhat of a kindred spirit. Demetrius had been content to be by himself for so long, maybe if he'd realised sooner there were other people out there who were friendly and seemed like they wanted to get along with him, well, maybe his brother wouldn't have had to tell him to get out there and make some friends. "It's good to know that," Demetrius said to not being alone in what he hoped was a sincere voice. "I'm not too much of a nerd besides video games, really. Bet my parents wish I was a nerd for school though," he said in a low grumble.

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday nodded along with Demetrius' explanation of how he got to see it. Monday never saw it played, but he did some reading. That was all he had done. Monday did not have any reason to really go after it since it was not his favorite. He liked RPG and platforms. They were challenging for him. Oh, and puzzle games of course. "I know how it can be. I felt something like that before I transferred. I think I would have felt it if it wasn't for Aine. She was the first person that talked to me. Found me actually." Monday chuckled as he recalled that. His memory of that was a fond one of that. He chuckled and pointed out, "Parents, in the end, if they are good anyway, want their children's happiness. Not everyone can nerd out for school. I don't. I just take everything because I don't want to be surprised in the magical world by anything."​

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

Demetrius felt a little strange at the mention of Aine. He had complicated feelings to do with her. He was sure she was a decent person, but their encounter earlier in the year in the Hufflepuff common room hadn't gone exactly well. "Oh, I see. I, uh, don't know her that well. She seems..." Demetrius didn't really know what to say. He paused for a moment. "Complicated?" he suggested with uncertainty. "We just didn't, uh, get along great," Demetrius finished lamely. Demetrius then listened to Monday talk about parents. He thought it sounded a bit optimistic. It sounded strange to him. What was a good parent anyway? The concept seemed pointless. You got the parents you got and you had to deal with that. But Demetrius nodded when he heard Monday's reason for taking all the subjects. "Yeah, that makes sense. I'm impressed you can keep up. I can only just keep up with the classes I'm taking," he said. "Especially since it's OWLs year."

 

[Monday Weeks]

Monday cocked his head to the side as Demetrius said that he and Aine did not get along great. He nodded, understanding. Not everyone will get along with each other, so he was not going to chastise or put Demetrius down for it. Aine could come across as intense or awkward, so he understood well. He likely had that effect on others as well. "Complicated honestly sums her up pretty well. But no worries. It'd be a perfect world if everyone got along well." Monday wanted to make sure that he held no negative feelings toward that. Just because Aine was his friend didn't mean he would not be friends with Demetrius - should he want Monday's friendship that is. Monday chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, "It is rough. Just sacrifice a little sleep, a social life, and make friends with caffeine to handle all of the homework. Plus, since some people don't like overachievers, I get left alone." Monday smirked subtly at the thought since having a lot of friends and hanging out just made him want to break out in hives to get away. Truly an introvert. "NEWT is going to be worse."​

 

[Demetrius Wagner]

Demetrius was glad Monday seemed laidback about how Demetrius and Aine didn't get along. It wasn't that he didn't like her - he honestly still thought it was his fault somehow, that he'd messed the whole thing up - but Demetrius didn't know how to express that. He just nodded along, grateful that that wasn't a hurdle in what Demetrius hoped was a kind of friendship developing. "That kind of sucks that people judge you like that," Demetrius said, "I guess it makes sense they would be like that. People can suck sometimes. And oh god, don't talk to me about NEWTs. I'm struggling so hard just with OWLs." A sudden thought occurred to Demetrius. "What do you reckon is the best subject out of them all? You take them all, so you must know which is the most interesting, right?" Demetrius idly wondered if that was a stupid question, but he was genuinely curious.